Left behind
by SerpentWinged
Summary: When Freya leaves Merlin for another man, he is heartbroken. Can Arthur and the knights pull him out of his sorrow before it eats him alive? AU: Freya never died. Set after Series three.
1. Letters of Broken Hearts

**AU set after series 3. Freya never died, she just went into hiding.**

**Har de har, just a friendly little Author's note for you!**

**...**

**Hello! :D Sorry for all of you Freya lovers, but i'm a Merlin/Arthur shipper. No slash romance, and NO Arthur/Gwen. I hate that pairing! So anyway! Lots of Bromance sooner or later! Read on, my loves!**

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><p>Merlin nearly fell over his own feet as he ran down the street, a small wooden box clutched tightly in his hand. This was it, this was the day.<p>

The day he'd ask Freya to marry him.

He'd been planning this day for weeks, and he'd spent _ages _looking for the perfect ring. He'd eventually found the perfect one, a thin golden one encrusted with tiny diamonds, magically spelling out Freya's name. He had finished his chores in record time, suprising Arthur out of his mind even more than he normally did. He all to quickly found himself in front of Freya's door. He brought his hand up and knocked three times.

No answer.

He knocked again.

Still no answer.

"Freya?"

Maybe she was out? No, it was too late in the evening for that. Merlin pushed the door open and walked inside slowly. He looked around. No sign of a struggle, so she must be alive and well. He walked into her bedroom.

"Freya, where are you? It's me, Merlin!"

Still no reply. Merlin was starting to get worried. He jumped when he heard a rattling noise from Freya's wardrobe. He reached his hand out, slowly taking the knob into his palm. Silently preying not to find a dead Freya in the wooden rectangular thing, he yanked the door open. He stumbled backwards at what was there - or moreover, what was _not._

Empty.

Completely, and utterly, empty.

No clothes, jewellery, books.

Nothing. He ran back into the main room.

"Freya!" He called once more. Merlin frantically searched for any sign of inhabitence, a piece of clothing, a half drunken mug of tea, anything. But the house was completely empty. The warlock's eyes fell upon a piece of parchment, a name written clearly across the front in black ink.

**_Merlin _**

Said person felt a wave of dread rush through his body as he picked up the letter and started to read.

_My dearest Merlin,_

_How sorry I am that I had to leave without saying goodbye. But unfortunatley I have found love in another man. His name is Osterid. He is Prince and the heir to the throne of Krolodor. Please do not come looking for me, as I am afraid you will get hurt, and I could not bare to see you injured. I beg you, Merlin, do not cry for me; cry only in the knowledge that we may never meet again. I do not mean to sound harsh, my love, but that is how it is. _

_My eternal love,_

_Freya. _

Merlin dropped the note to the floor and stood in shocked silence. The words slowly sunk in, permanently engraving themselves into his heart.

_I have found love in another man._

Another man, not him.

He felt the tears flow down his cheeks faster than they ever had before. He fell to his knees, clutching the tiny box in his palms, the only thing left he had of Freya. He let out a loud, strangled scream of anguish. Freya was gone, never coming back. What had he done wrong? He had cherished her, loved her, watched out for her on a daily basis. He had done nothing wrong, yet the love of his life had still left him for another man. He brought his hands to his forehead and clutched his head, rocking back and forth on his knees. Merlin made no indication to move when he heard a familiar call of his name.

"Merlin?"

Lancelot's voice rung through his head as he sobbed, his body heaving with every large breath. He heard the front door being opened and fast footsteps running over to him. An arm was thrown around his shoulder and he was pulled against the knight's chest.

"Merlin, what happened?" Lancelot said gently as he ran his hand up and down Merlin's back.

"Freya, she..." Merlin's voice cut off, the unspoken words hammering against his chest like a dark creature, wanting more than anything to escape. Lancelot, sensing his pain, did the only thing he thought would help. He stood, taking the man who he considered to be a brother into his arms in one swift movement. Merlin buried his face in Lancelot's chest.

"Come on Merlin, let's go to Arthurs chambers. The knights are waiting."

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><p><strong>POOR MERLIN! I feel really evil now...<strong>

**Sorry about the really short chapter, but the next one will be longer I promise!**

**Reviews and whatnot are much appritiated and do not go unrewarded... *waves a kitkat in front of the readers***


	2. The Nicest Thing

**After a rather scary review from a certain person... you know you are, you with the flaming pitchforks!**

**I thought I had better get the hell on with this.**

**I'm not a particulary confident writer, so please gimme feedback and ways to improve. **

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><p>"Merlin?" Arthur stared at the sobbing figure in Lancelot's arms. "What happened?" He stood aside and let Lancelot through into his chambers. "Sit him on the bed."<p>

Gwaine and the other nights stood and gathered around the shaking warlock, each of them masking a look of confusion. "Merlin, what happened?" Lancelot asked gently. sitting next to Merlin and throwing an arm around him.

"F-freya, s-she l-left m-m-me!" Merling sobbed into his hands.

"She left you?" Arthur said in shock. "But- but why?"

"She said t-that she had fallen in love with another man." Merlin brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face between his knees.

"Merlin," Percival started gently. "Do you know where exactly Freya is? We could go after her-"

"No." Merlin stated firmly, shaking his head. "Leave her be."

"Merlin, are you-" Elyan said slowly.

"He said he's sure." Gwaine said with a small glare at Elyan. Elyan held his hands up in defence, moving back to sit on the table.

"Can you at least tell us _who _she left you for?" Sir Leon said with a sympathetic glance at Merlin.

"His name is _Osterid_." Merlin spat the name out with such venom, it was a wonder he didn't set his trousers alight. "He's the crowned prince of Krolodor."

"Osterid?" Arthur said, vaguely remembering the name from somewhere. "I think he visited Camelot a few months before your first arrived here. Quite an arrogant man, very outspoken."

"The type of man Freya goes for." Merlin said with a snivel, wishing nothing more than to shrivel up and die right there.

"Merlin, get some sleep." Lancelot said.

"I can't." Merlin protested.

"Merlin, sleep." Lancelot said firmly. Merlin looked him in the eyes.

"Promise me one thing, then i'll sleep." He said.

"Anything you want." Gwaine said, trying to control his anger at Freya.

"Don't go after Freya." Merlin said dryly. The other men hesitated. "I mean it, guys. Don't go after Freya. _Or Osterid."_

Gwaine huffed mockingly. "There goes my sunday plans." Merlin smiled weakly. Lancelot helped Merlin on to his side, laying his head gently on the pilow and covering him with a woolen blanket. The knights sat with him until the manservant was restlessly dreaming of Freya and Osterid.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Poor kid." Gwaine said quietly, as not to disturb Merlin's slumber.

"How could Freya do that to him?" Lancelot scratched his head. "They were perfect for each other."

"The heart works in strange ways." Elyan said wisely, taking a sip of wine. Arthur shot a side glance at Merlin. "Bless him."

Arthur had to agree with Elyan there. Freya had been Merlin's everything, and now she was gone. The prince wondered what had caused Freya to leave Merlin for Osterid. Arthur had seen the man, he wasn't particulary attractive. He was about 5 foot seven, quite large in more ways than one. He always insisted on wearing layers of expensive, heavy clothing lined with animal fur of some kind. His attitude was that of a three year old when it came to getting what he wanted. The man had such a horrible temper, it was a wonder he hadn't already blown up.

"We can't let him suffer like this." Said Gwaine.

"But Gwaine, what can we do?" Sir Leon said with a sigh. "Merlin asked us not to go after her or Osterid, so _that _is out of the question."

"But if we accidently stumbled across them..." Gwaine started. Leon glared at him. Gwaine shut up straight away.

"Sometimes talking to somebody who is grieving helps them." Percival offered.

"Merlin isn't the type of person who would share his inner and most deep feelings with people of a higher position than him." Lancelot shook his head. "He thinks that it is not his place."

"Why would he think that?" Arthur asked, genuinley confused.

"Well, _princess_," Gwaine teased. "It doesn't help that you keep ordering him to do degradory chores."

"This is not my fault." Arthur hissed. "If it's anybody's fault it's Freya's for leaving without even saying goodbye."

"Would you both _shut up_?" Elyan said in a shouted whisper. "You'll wake Merlin."

"Is he going to be okay?" Percival swirled his wine around in his goblet.

"Only time will tell." Leon said gently, casting a look at Merlin. "Only time.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Merlin awoke the next morning in strange surroundings. His pillow felt a lot softer than normal, his quilt was not scratchy and his bed had seemed to... grow. He groaned as he sat up, looking around. A sense of panic swept through him when he saw he was in Arthur's chambers. He rubbed his forehead in confusion, before he remembered. Freya had left him. He clutched his chest in pain as the words of the letter re-entered his head after the long night of dreaming about Freya and Osterid as Queen and King of Krolodor...

The young man was snapped from his thought when a figure stirred at the end of the bed. Merlin squinted through the dawn.

"Arthur?" The figure of Arthur stretched his arms above his head and yawned loudly.

"Good morning there, Merlin. Did you sleep well?" Arthur spoke as if it was regular to have your manservant wake up in your bed.

"I guess so." Merlin looked down at his hands sadly. He didn't notice Arthur sympathetic and almost protective stare.

"Merlin..." Arthur moved forward so he was sat in front of Merlin. "If you should ever need anybody to talk too, I am always here. You know that?" Merlin almost choked on his on soliva. That had to have been the nicest thing that his royal pratness had ever said to him! And certainly the most comforting thing.

"I- I know that, Arthur." Merlin said strongly. Arthur smiled gently and nodded. Merlin made to move, but Arthur pushed his shoulder back against the pillow.

"Go back to sleep Merlin, it's still early."

Merlin only nodded before he shut his eyes once more.

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><p><strong>Fluffy enough for you all? :D<strong>


	3. Super Stupid Slutty Serving Girl

**SORRY FOR THE WAIT! Real life stuff got in the way . **

**OH! And I also need you to help me choose pairings. If I get too many varied results then i'll just go with Merlin/Arthur or nothing at all. :3 And Bethany in this chapter is based on somebody at school I REALLY want to smack.**

**In the face.**

**With a chair. :) **

**And she has a weird way of speech. She ends a sentance by swapping a vowel for a heavy "Ar" sound. It really does make your eye twitch. So I will put the translations next to the words for you. ^_^ And just remember that nobody knows about Merlin's magic apart from Gaius and Lancelot. **

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><p>Merlin's eyes were closed tightly as he lay against Gaius's side, the physician's arm around his shoulders and keeping him in a firm hold. He was distantly aware of voices in the background, sometimes speaking his name and others speaking of Freya… Well, they spoke of a person names You-know-who, but Merlin knew they meant his Freya. His heart suddenly gave a pang as he realised it was no longer <em>his <em>Freya, but stupid, arrogant, ugly, stupid Osterid. He was pulled out from a mental vision of murdering Osterid brutally with a fork by Gaius's hand gently shaking his arm.

"Merlin," Gaius's voice was quiet and almost soothing. "Time to wake up." Merlin's eyes blearily opened, and groaned in protest as he was lifted into the air. "Percival, please carry him back to my chambers."

"Of course, Gaius." Percival's voice was also quite silent, which was quite a shock considering his size. Merlin's head lulled to the side, into the knight's chest. Percival sighed quietly. The man in his arms was a broken one, since Freya had left. Percival had often caught the manservant crying to himself whilst in the armoury. He hadn't ever said anything, but he had seen. Percival had to agree with Leon, though. Going after Frey a would only make things a hell of a lot worse. They reached Gaius's chambers, and the physician led him into Merlin's room. The room was pretty tidy, which was suprising considering how clumsy and forgetful the servant was. The bulky knight rested Merlin gently on his bed and pulled a blanket over his tiny body. Percival brushed the hair from Merlin's forehead, then quickly left the room.

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><p>The next day found Merlin trudging through the castle, on the way to get the Prince's breakfast, when he suddenly came across a real swat of a servant - Bethany. She flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder and smiled in a sickly sweet way.<p>

"Morning, Merlin." Bethany said.

"Hello Bethany." Merlin tried to push past her, not really in the mood for her annoying voice or hair-flicking.

"Nooooo-ar **(No!) **! Merlin, don't go-ar! **(Go!) **Stay heahr. **(Here.)**" Bethany whined, flicking her hair and grabbing his arm. Merlin, getting quite peeved at the moment, pushed her off and made to walk away. Suddenly, he was pushed up against the wall, Bethany's cold lips on his. His eyes widened, and he pushed her off him, his face a pure mask of anger.

"How DARE you!" Merlin shouted at the giggling servant. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO KISS ME, WENCH?"

As Merlin moved forward to potentially maim the stupid whore, he felt two hands on each of his arms, pulling him back. Bethany was happily skipping away as Merlin was held in an arm lock.

"Merlin," Sir Leon's voice whispered soothingly in his ear. "Deep breaths, calm down."

"Let's take him to Arthur's chambers." Gwaine's voice spoke from the other side of him. "I think Lancelot said he and Percival were heading there to speak with Arthur about guard duty in the upper town."

The two stronger men ignored Merlin's struggles as they made their way up the stairs. The guards outside Arthur's doors stepped aside, now completely used to things like this happening. Leon and Gwaine almost carried Merlin into the room and onto a chair, where Gwaine held Merlin's (Who was still struggling by the way.) shoulders firmly to keep him from moving. Arthur's brow furrowed as he, Lancelot and Percival made their way over to the struggling servant.

"Somebody care to explain what's happened?" Lancelot asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you know that serving girl? Bethany?" Leon started. They jumped at Merlin's growl. Arthur nodded. "She er..." Leon dropped his voice. "She kissed Merlin."

_"SHE_ WHAT?" Lancelot and Arthur yelled at the same time.

"Shh!" Percival hushed them. "Something else must have happened."

"Sure as." Gwaine said. "Merlin got really angry. He pushed her away, yelled at her then tried to hit her."

"Merlin!" Arthur scolded.

"We know you're angry Merlin, but you could have hurt Bethany. No matter how much she deserves it, she could easily get you in trouble." Lancelot said in a stern voice. Merlin looked at his lap, not even struggling anymore.

"She kissed me." Merlin said in a low voice. "And it reminded me that Freya isn't here anymore... that she'll never kiss me again."

The knights's hearts dropped. Of course... how could they be so stupid? Arthur sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. As the prince he would have to deal with the situation. His manservant had attempted to assault a serving girl, and Arthur knew that if his father took charge of it, Merlin could easily be banished, and the prince was _not _prepared to lose his friend. Arthur sighed again as Leon began to speak.

"I'll summon Gaius to bring a sleeping draught up for him. Gwaine, Lancelot, try and get him to calm down." The knight ordered, heading out the door.

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><p><strong>Well that was a crappy ending... ah well, i'll edit it afterwars. :**

**SO. How do you like over protective knights and slutty whore Bethany?**


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